Hopper-car-door-operating device.



D. S. BARROWS.

HOPPER CAR DOOR OPERATING DEVICE. Arrucmog FILED APR-24. 1915.

1,199,754. I Patented Oct. 3,1916.

5] nva nfcz UNITED S A ES PATENT OFFICE.

DONALD S. BARROWS, OF BOONTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN AND FOUNDRY COMPANY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HOPPER-CAR-DOOB-OPERATING DEVICE.

Application filed April 24, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD S. Banaows, residing at Boonto n, Morris county, New Jersey, and being a citizen of ,the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hopper-Car-Door-Operating Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap pertains to make and to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it'is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described,

. a vertical sectional view, the section being as it would appear if taken on line 3--3 of Fig.

1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, but is reversed for convenient comparison with Figs. 2 and i. Fig. 1 is a similar view, the section being taken on line 4-4 of' l ig. 1. Fig. T is a fragmentary detail showing a castingcomprising bearings for shafts hereinafter referred to. Fig. (l is a detail hereinafter described. and Fig. 7 is a detached detail view of the socket for the operating arm of the device. a fragmentary end portion of a hopper car equipped with the invention showing the releasing arnrin an unlocked position.

The object of the invention is to provide simple, reliable and accessible means adapted to be attached to the end of a (lumping car or car comprising dumping bottom doors in whole or in part, which device may be associated with means for actuating the op crating shaft and coiipcrating therewith to secure safety in operation while the operating shaft is en'iployed to lift the doors and which will automatically release the means for locking the shaft in position during certain movement of the releasing; lVhile the Specification of Letters Patent.

Fig. s is Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Serial No. 23,694.

device is shown a plied to a dumping car in which is employed awinding shaft actuated through a gear on said shaft and a pinion on a separate shaft, the device would work equally as well with the separate shaft and pinion omitted and the operating arm hereinafter referred to secured directly to or upon the winding shaft.

Referring to the parts, I) indicates the winding shaft hereinhefore referred to which shaft is provided near its outer end with a non-circular portion S on which is held a ratchet wheel B and outside of said ratchet wheel is a large gear wheel a. The

.outer end of this shaft at, 7' is circular as shown and is perforatcdso as to adapt it to receive through such perforation a large cotter pin 1" employed'to lock the large gear wheel and said ratchet in position on said shaft. It will be observed that said shaft extends through the opening 0 in an inner bearing plate w secured to the end of the car and an outer bearin plate 8 is also held in position on the shaft D by said cotter pin before referred to. i

Mounted on the bearing sleeve 9 of plate in is a stub shaft 10 on which is mounted the bifurcated lower end portion of the releasing arm 1]. This bifurcated lower end 8 of the arm 11 is of relatively large area and held between its bifurcations are two spools or thinibles 13 secured in position by suit able rivets i l. and it will be seen from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 8 that there. is one of said spools at each side of the pawl 15, which pawlis pivotally .ounted on the stub shaft 10 before referred to, as indicated'at 1G in Fig. 1. The invention relates spccifirally to the cooperation of said releasing arm, said pawl and the means for operating the pawl if in whatever position said pawl may be placed.

Inthe present instance a shaft 18 extends through the bearing sleeve 19 of the plate w and said shaft is non-rotatable being locked in its bearing sleeve 1'.) by means of the, pin shown in Fig. 3, r'iiich pin ex tends through said shaft and hrough the wall of said sleeve. On the outer Hid of the shaft 18is mounted the pinion which pinion is provided on its outer end with a non-circular hub portion on which is held ehronously.

the ratchet wheel 26 so that said ratchet wheel and pinion necessarily rotate synon which is mounted, so as to be freely rotatable, the bearing 28 for the socket handle 29 of the operating arm 30 and pivotally connected at a pawl '32 which, as will be noted in Fig. 8, is adapted to bear against and interlock with the teeth of said ratchet wheel 26 so that when the operating arm is ,moved contra-clockwise, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 8, the'pawl 32 will bear against the ratchet wheel 26 rotating'the pinion 24 in the same direction on the shaft 18 and due to the intermeshing of the pinion 24 with the gear a, on the winding shaft D, said winding shaft will be rotated in a clockwise direction, pinion 24c and gear a, forming a power-multiplying gear train for delivering increased motive force to shaft D. During this operation the releasing arm will stand in substantially the position indicated in Fig. 1 in which position one of the spools 13 will bear on the upper face of the pawl 15 and cause said pawl to sup port more or less of the weight of said releasing arm 11, hence automatically causing the pawl to interlock with the ratchet wheel B, before referred to, while the shaft D is moving in a clockwise direction, during which operation the operating arm 30 will occupy substantially the position shown in Fig. 8 or within its zone of operative move ment., When the shaft D has been turned a suitable number of times to accomplish the desired purpose as, for example, to lift the dumping doors of a car, the releasing arm is iocked in the position shown in full lines in Fig. l by means of the loop 40 which is carried on the grab-iron 41, which grabiron is secured to the end plate 42 of the car shown in that figure. When it is desired to dump the load, that is, to release the winding shaft, all that is necessary is to throw off the loop 40 from its engagement with the releasing arm, and the re leasing arm may then be moved to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 8, whereupon the lower or left hand spool 13 will engage with the lower face of the pawl 15 and lift said pawl from its engagement with. the ratchet wheel B, that is, will move said pawl from its position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to the two positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8, it being understood that prior to releasing the pawl 15 the operating arm is released from its engagement with the ratchet wheel 26 by throwing out of engagement the pawl 32, before referred to. When the arm 11 is moved from the position shown in full lines in 31 to the socket handle 29 is engage said pawl from said ratchet wheel, a rockable member having with said pawl a common pivot and means on said roekable member at two sides of said pawl each adapted to bear thereagainst at a predetermined time.

2. In a device of the character described, a. rockable handle bifurcated near one end and connected across the bifurcation at two points, a pivot relatively intermediate said connected points of the bifurcation, and a pawl rockable on said pivot adapted to contact with the connection at said points.

3. In a device of the character described, a shaft, a ratchet wheel thereon, a pawl and a. rockable member provided with contact devices adapted, respectively, to maintain said pawl in engagement with said ratchet wheel through the graviiitive influence of said rockable member and to disby a rocking of said member.

4. In combination, a shaft, a ratchet wheel rotatable therewith, a pivoted pawl, a rockable member and devices carried thereby disposed on opposite sides of said pawl and adapted respectively, to cause said pawl to engage and disengage said ratchet wheel in response to the position of said rockable member.

In combination, a pair of shafts, a ratchet wheel on each shaft, a suitably actuated driving pawl adapted to engage one ratchet wheel and a detent pawl for the other ratchet wheel, a rockable member by which said ,detent pawl is movably confined and caused to, respectively, engage and disengage the last mentioned ratchet Wheel and a driving connection between the first mentioned ratchet wheel and the shaft bearing the second mentioned ratchet wheel.

(I. In combination, a pair of shafts, a gear on one shaft provided with an extended hub, a ratchet wheel fixedly mounted on said hub, a suitably actuated driving pawl therefor, a rock-able member provided with means adapted to engage said detent pawl on opposite sides and to move the same into and out of coiiperative relation with the last mentioned ratchet wheel and a gear connection between said gear and second mentioned shaft.

7. In combination, a pair of shafts, a gear on one shaft provided with an extended hub, a. ratchet wheel and an operating lever fixedly and loosely mounted, respectively, on said hub, a driving pawl for said ratchet wheel carried by the operating lover, a gear ratchet wheel and a r tchet wheel fixed to the other shaft the former and first mentioned gear being in the same gear train, and a. detent pawl adapted to be thrown into and out of coiiperative relation with the last mentioned ratchet wheel.

8. In combination, a suitably actuated power multiplying gear train, a shaft adapted to be driven thereby, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a detent pawl therefor and a rockable member adapted to limit the movement. of said pawl and to cause it to engage and disengage said ratchet wheel.

9. In combination, a. shaft means for driving the'same from another point, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft and a detent pawl and a rockable member having a common pivot said member being adapted to maintain said pawl engaged with said ratchet wheel through gravity and to disengage said pawl by a predetermined actuation of said member.

10. In combination, a shaft agear train 'for driving the same one of the gears having an extending hub, a ratchet wheel and an operating arm the former fixed to said hub and the latter suspended therefrom but adapted to be moved to an operative position, an actuating pawl for said ratchet wheel mounted on said operating arm, a ratchet wheel on said shaft. a detent pawl th refor and gravity operable means for positioning and tripping the same.

11. In combination, a shaft, :1 gear train for driving the same one of the gears having an extended hub, a ratchet wheel and an operating arm the former fixed to sa d hub and the latter snsg'iended tlwretroin but adapted to be moved to an op rative position, and an actuating: pawl for said ratchet wheel mounted on said operating: arm

1:2. In coznbiimiiion. a base. a pivot and a stu shaft mounted thereon and a rotatable shalfi extending through and ;,-upportcd by said basin means for driving: said rotatable shaft connecting both shafts, a ratchet wheel on the rotatable shaft and a pawl and rock-- able member mounted on said pivot the rockable member being adapted through gravity to maintain said pawl in engagement with said ratchet wheel and movable to trip the pawl.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

v DONALD S. BARROWS.

Witnesses RUSSELL HAGER. B. VANDER BEUGLE. 

